When Confucius went to Chû, Jieyû, the madman of Chû,
as he was wandering about, passed by his gate,
called out,

‘Oh Phoenix, Oh Phoenix, how is your virtue degenerated!
The future is not to be waited for;
the past is not to be sought again!

When good order (Tao) prevails in the world,
the sage tries to accomplish all his service;
when Tao is absent, he merely survives;
at the present time, we are fortunate
if we can escape punishment.

Happiness is lighter than a feather,
but no one knows how to support it;
calamity is heavier than the earth,
and yet no one knows how to avoid it.

Give up! give up approaching men with the lessons of your virtue!
You are in peril! you are in peril,
rushing into areas you have marked out.

I avoid publicity, I avoid publicity,
that my path may not be injured.
I pursue my course, now going backwards,
now crookedly, that my feet may not be hurt.

Zhuangzi, by Zhuang Zhou, trans. by Hyun Hochsman, Yang Guorong

I have read that in pre-industrial societies, individuals who had visions, heard voices were sometimes recognized as a shaman, a medium who could speak for the gods. We Americans no longer live in a hunter-gatherer world, indeed it was our mission to replace such a lifestyle with an abundance-way-of-life. Our success is celebrated at every turn it seems. For many the old gods have lost credibility. Even those who continue the habit of Sunday worship services, clearly have dissonant lives, – “Jesus is the answer” only as a formal abstraction.

This quote coming from a time when prosperity was out of reach for the common man, conveys a timeless wisdom. The local shaman (madman) offers to Confucius the basic advice, “carpe diem.” Said differently, “you ought to seize the day.” Do not wait for future better day, and do not pine for the “good old days” of a past time. The shaman continues and I paraphrase, “in an evil time, keep your head down and do what you can.” With luck you’ll not be punished for your views.

Then comes the real gem of insight: Happiness/well being is feather-like, outside of your control. In addition the obverse state of calamity/misfortune is certain, something you cannot avoid.

The madman advises Confucius against the futility of pressing his “lessons” upon those ill prepared to receive what they cannot understand. The old shaman says that he pursues a crooked path, a path oblique to the POV of a time which disavows virtue.

I wonder how can I make use of the madman’s advice?